Oct. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Sommeliers don’t like diners to bring their own wine. Why would they when restaurants may charge more than three times as much as they pay for a bottle?

“The guy who recently bought my ‘82 Petrus at 3,000 pounds ($5,000) did really well because it cost me 2,700 pounds to replace,” says David Moore, owner of the two-Michelin-star Pied a Terre, in London’s Fitzrovia district. “The higher up the wine list you go, the better value you get.

“The worst value will be under 30 pounds a bottle,” Moore says. “For a 5 pound bottle, you’re probably going to pay over 15 pounds when we add (value-added tax) in. I’m not driving around in a Daimler or something, but our costs require that kind of margin.”

Some London restaurants charge as much as 50 pounds a bottle for corkage and still say they don’t like bring-your-own.

“As a rule of thumb, wine, water and soft-drink sales are about one-third of revenue, so it’s an incredibly important part of the business,” says Des Gunewardena, chairman and chief executive of D&D London, the owners of Coq d’Argent and Plateau.

Over at Arbutus, Will Smith, who co-owns the Soho eatery and its Mayfair sister, Wild Honey, says he charges 20 pounds.

“It’s rare -- not once a month between the two restaurants -- and I’d prefer not to do it,” he says. “But I’m delighted people are dining with us and it’s about good will and being hospitable. They will usually have something else from us anyway, so there’s always a sale in there somewhere.”

‘Always a Pain’

Hugues Lepin, head sommelier at Bleeding Heart, says he usually charges between 5 pounds and 10 pounds, depending on the situation, and might not always make a regular customer pay.

“We normally try to avoid corkage because it’s always a pain,” Lepin says. “It’s frustrating for us to take care of customers who don’t spend any money with us. But we’ll always find a way of coming to an arrangement.”

I called London’s leading restaurants anonymously to ask what they charge. There was confusion at some venues and Pied a Terre was unaware of the current “Vines Offer,” whereby you don’t pay corkage if you ask for the offer when booking.

There was uncertainty about the charge at some eateries, with whispering at the other end, or my call being transferred to someone else, or a promise to call back. Gunewardena says his company doesn’t have a policy. If you want to take wine into a restaurant, it’s best to call the sommelier first to discuss it.

Here are the responses I got:

1 Lombard Street: “It’s around 10 pounds per bottle.”

Alain Ducasse: “We don’t do that. I’m sorry. You can find our wine list on the Web site.”

Coq d’Argent: “For table wine, we’re charging 15 pounds. If you come with Champagne or sparkling wine, it’s 20 pounds.”

Corrigan’s Mayfair: “It’s 30 pounds.” (Definitely one to check; one diner I know says he was quoted 50 pounds.)

Le Gavroche: “We don’t accept wine from outside, sorry.”

Goodman: “It’s 8 to 10 pounds, I guess.” You’re sure? “Yes, it’s no more than 10 and it can’t be less than 8.”

Gordon Ramsay: “We don’t allow that, I’m afraid.”

The Greenhouse: “We don’t do corkage.”

Hibiscus: “It’s 30 pounds for wine and 50 for Champagne.”

Hix: “We’re still finalizing things at the moment but we’re looking at 10-15 pounds.”

Jamie’s Italian: “We’re not allowed to do it.”

The Ledbury: “It’s 45 pounds per bottle.”

Nobu: “It’s 25 (pounds) for a bottle of wine or 35 for port or a bottle of Champagne.”

Oxo Tower: “It’s the normal price of the house wine and that’s 20 pounds.” So, 20 pounds a bottle? “That’s right.”

The Palm: “Corkage is 20 pounds. The same for Champagne.”

Scott’s: “We don’t do corkage.”

The Square: “It’s 50 pounds a bottle.”

Sketch (Lecture Room): “We don’t really accept wines from outside, I’m afraid. I can check with the sommelier. We’ll call you back.” They didn’t.

Tom Aikens: “For dinner we charge 30 pounds and until the end of October we have an offer for lunch where there’s no charge if you dine a la carte or order the tasting menu.”

The Wolseley: “We don’t do it, I’m afraid. I’m sorry.”

(Richard Vines is the chief food critic for Bloomberg News. Opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer on the story: Richard Vines in London at rvines@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: October 25, 2009 20:00 EDT